Feed-water heater.



H. ETHBRIDGR FEED WATER HEATER. PPLIOATIQN FILED 11u13, 1909.

938,134. Patented U01-,26,1909

attoznu UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

HARRY ETHERIDGE, OF ZELIENOPLE, PENNSYLVANIA.

FEED-WATER HEATER.

To all whom t may concer/L:

Be it known that I, HARRY ETHERIDGE, a citizen of the United States,residing at Zelienople, in the county of Butler and State ofPennsylvania, have invented certain new and useful Improvements inFeed-Water Heaters, and do declare the following to be a full, clear,and exact description of the invention, such as will enable othersskilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the, same,reference being had to the accompanying drawings, and to the letters andfigures of reference marked thereon, which form a part of thisspecification.

In all open-feed water heaters,`having a by-pass for 'the exhaust steamservice, there is an accumulation of heavy gases which is given 0E bythe water and occupies the space in the heater above the water line,which gases being of greater specific gravity than the incoming steamgradually becomes so dense as to offer a back-pressure to the entranceof the steam. When this condition prevails the exhaust steam naturallyfollows the path of least resistance and escapes through the main lineto the atmosphere, with a consequent fall in the temperature of thefeed-water in the heater.

To overcome the above objection various means have been employed, themost notable being tha-t of placing a butterfly valve in the exhaustline, the attendin weight carried by the valve lever at the pivotalthereof being adjusted by hand to suit different quantities of steamemitted from the exhaust line. Aside from the necessity of constantchange of adjustment of the weight to accommodate different quantitiesof steam from the exhaust line, and the consequent back-pressure to theengine, it has been found that the constant hammering of the valveoccasioned thereby, wears the valve parts, occasioning repairs andrenewals thereof.

The object of my invention is to provide a simple and effective means ofeliminating the difficulties referred to and which shall be entirelyautomatic in operation regardless of the amount of steam employed, aswell as maintain the water at a temperature consistent with that of theexhaust steam, the means employed to effect these results being that ofa valve actuated automatically by the exhaust pulsations, the relativelocation of lthe valve to the heater being found to be Specification ofLetters Patent.

Application filed May 13, 1909.

Patented Oct. 26, 1909.

Serial No. 495,791.

most essential to attainment of results, as will be later pointed out.

In the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this specification, Ihave illustrated the application of my invention to a feed water heater,in which drawings,

Figure I, is a side elevation of a heater and attending exhaust steamline, with my improvements added thereto, and Fig. II, is a longitudinalsectional view through the automatic valve, similar detail parts of thestructure in said views being designated by numerals of like character.

In the structure disclosed, the numeral 1 designates one of the manyforms of heaters at present in use, but the particular form shown is notessential as the invention is applicable to any other form of openheater. Associated with the heater is shown the usual exhaust steam line2 having a branch 8 connect-ing the same with the heater, in whichbranch is placed the usual gatevalve 4.

To the heater proper, and as close to the water line X. X. ascircumstance will permit, I'secure my automatic valve, comprising anelbow 5 communicating with the interior of the heater the outer end ofwhich carries a loosely disposed disk 6 which is the valve proper. Thevalve end of this elbow has a cage 7 threadably secured thereto and hasthe exhaust openings 8 formed therein, said cage being in the form of acap and is provided in the top with vertically disposed screw-bolts 9extending therethrough to limit.

and regulate the lift o the valve, said screws being provided withjam-nuts 10. I also place within the main exhaust linea gatevalve 11 toregulate the supply of steam to the heater.

In practice, with each impulse of the exhaust steam as it enters theheater the disk valve will be lifted from its seat on the end of theelbow, since as before stated the gases are of greater specific gravitythan the air or incoming steam and dispose themselves upon the surfaceof the water, said incoming steam pulsations act upon the gases andforce them out through the elbow as fast as they accumulate, the diskvalve resuming its seat instantly as soon as the exhaust pulsation isspent, thereby disposing of the said gases externally and preventingtheir return as well as the entrance of cold air from the surroundingatmosphere, the operation of opening and closing the valve beingcontinued automatically by and between they pulsations of the steam.

The location of the vacuum valve is, as before stated, essential toobtaining the best results, it being determined by experiment that itshould be as near the water or overflow line as possible, thetemperature of the water being increased to a greater extent at suchVlocation than at any other point thereabove with the same amount ofsteam, said gases being of greater specific gravity than t-he air orsteam it is evident that the outlet for same should be at the water lineand in the absence of any outlet the gases are merely disturbed andabsorb the heat which should pass into the water.

Having thus shown and described my invention, what I claim and desire tosecure by Letters Patent, is:

1. The combination with a feed-water heater, of a Valve located at thewater line thereof and adapted to be automatically operated by theexhaust pulsations, as and for the purpose setV forth.

2. The combination with a feed-water heater, of an outlet member locatedat the4 tions, as and for the purpose set forth.

3. The combination with a feed-water heater', of an outlet memberlocated at the water line thereof, a valve seated on said member adaptedto be operated by the eX- haust pulsations, andV means tov limit themovement of said valve.

ll. The combination with a feed-water heater, o-f an outlet memberlocated at the water line thereof, Va disk valve seated on said member,a cage carried by the end of said member over the Valve, and means toregulate the movement of said Valve.

In testimony whereof, I afliXY my signature, in presence of twowitnesses.

HARRY ETHERIDGE.

l/Vitnesses JEAN WILSON, E. GOETTMAN.

